Cogswell Kidder Green (1809-1889)

Portrait from Norwich University, 1819-1911: Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor.

   Prominent in the early history of Berrien County, Michigan, Cogswell Kidder Green was a transplant to that state from New England, and following his Michigan resettlement became a leading political figure in the still-young county of Berrien, serving as its first Judge of Probate. Green later represented Berrien in the Michigan House of Representatives and was also Village President of Niles, Michigan, several years prior to it becoming a city. In the late 1860s, he relocated to Exeter, New Hampshire, where he resided until his death.

   The life of this now-forgotten Michigan political figure began (depending on the source) in either Putney, Vermont or Westmoreland, New Hampshire on July 29, 1809, being the son of Capt. Thomas Kidder and Betsey (Cogswell) Green. Bestowed the unusual name Cogswell Kidder upon his birth, Green's first name has a variation in spelling, being spelled with both a double "g" and without. Green attended school at the Chesterfield Academy in New Hampshire in the early 1820s and later studied at Norwich University.

  Seeing a bright future for himself in law, Green traveled to Steubenville, Ohio in 1828 and here began reading law with John Crafts Wright (1783-1861), who'd later serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and on the Ohio Supreme Court. Green was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1830 and in that same year relocated to Berrien County, Michigan, which had been established the year prior. Settling in the village of Niles, Green began his law practice here and in 1831 was appointed as Berrien County's first judge of probate, an office he'd continue to hold until 1833. In the year following his becoming judge Green began a five-year tenure as Niles town clerk (being the first man to hold that post) and from 1835-1836 was Postmaster of Niles. 

   Cogswell Kidder Green married on May 28, 1835, to Nancy Aurora Howard (1818-1843). The couple would have three daughters (Katherine, Emily, and Nancy), and following Nancy's death, he remarried in New Hampshire in 1854 to Sarah Clough Lawrence (1828-1894), who survived him upon his death in 1889.

  Green continued his climb up the state political ladder in 1835 when he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. His tenure as Berrien County's first representative to the state legislature is notable due to the fact that the 1835-36 term (begun in November 1835) marked not only the first time the legislature had convened after the adoption of the state constitution of 1835 but also was the first session to be titled "state legislature", not territorial. This session was also held at Michigan's then capital, Detroit, which would later be moved to Lansing in 1847. Green's term in the house saw him sit on the committees on the Judiciary, Education, Enrollment, and Unfinished Business. 

   Following his brief time in the legislature, Green returned to practicing law in Niles and in 1844 served as its village president. Notice is also given as to Green serving as Deputy Collector of the Port of San Francisco from 1851-53, but other than a brief mention in the history of Norwich University, 1819-1911, no other information could be located on Green's venture in California. 

   Cogswell Green left Michigan in 1854 and after his remarriage to Sarah Lawrence in New Hampshire that year resided in Washington, D.C. until 1869.  Despite residing in the nation's capital for nearly fifteen years, no other mention is given as to Green's time there. For the remainder of his life, Green resided in Exeter, New Hampshire, and in 1886 was invited to attend a fiftieth reunion of the first legislature of Michigan but was unable to travel due to the distance. Green died in Exeter on December 3, 1889, at age 80. Both he and his wife Sarah were later interred at the Exeter Cemetery in that city. 

Montague Woolsey Ripley (1878-1943), Montague Tucker Moses (1850-1927), Montague Hakes (1858-1921), Montague Bryant Steadman (1868-1937)

From the 1931-32 Manual of the Michigan Legislature. 

   It isn't often that one stumbles across a political figure that shares his first name with the town in which he was born, but that is precisely the case with one-term Michigan legislator Montague Woolsey Ripley, who was born in the town of Montague, Michigan on September 28, 1878. The son of druggist Lafayette G. and May (Brackley) Ripley, Montague W. Ripley graduated from Montague High School in 1895 and continued his studies at Albion College, graduating in the class of 1899. He married in Calhoun, Michigan in August 1903 to Katharine W. Webster. The couple were wed for forty years and had five children, Arthur, Lucille, Florence, Mary, and Alice.

   Following his college graduation, Ripley entered into publishing, being the editor of the Whitehall Forum newspaper for a brief period. In the early 1900s, he followed his father into the druggist business, joining him at a pharmacy in Montague. In 1904 Ripley entered into public service for the first time, being named as Montague's postmaster, an office he would continue to hold until 1916. He'd later hold a seat on the Montague board of education and was a member of the Montague Progressive Club and the local Masonic chapter.

   In 1919 Ripley returned to the druggist trade, operating with his brother drug stores located in Montague and Whitehall, Michigan. Ripley continued along this route until 1931 when he became a Republican candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives. This special election had been occasioned by the death of Edward Skeels (1865-1931), a three-term representative from Muskegon County's 2nd district. After winning the Republican nomination in March, Ripley went on to defeat Democrat T. Thomas Thatcher in the April election and took his seat in the legislature soon after.

    Montague W. Ripley's brief time as a representative saw him sit on the committees on Apportionment, Conservation, the State Normal College, and the State Public School. Ripley's time in state government also saw him vote an emphatic "no" to Constitutional Amendment No. 3 (also referred to as the Michigan Plan), a piece of legislation offered up by Wayne County that would increase its representation in the house from 22 legislators to 39. Ripley and several other legislators cried foul, with Ripley noting that 

"Increasing Wayne's representation in the House from 22 to 39, will give Wayne County a negative control in all legislation, and a positive control in all matters that requires a two-thirds vote in either house."

   Ripley was a candidate for reelection in 1932 but in November lost out to the man he had defeated the previous year, T. Thomas Thatcher. Ripley would run another unsuccessful candidacy in 1934 and in 1936 moved to Lansing, where he accepted a position in the state library department. He would also return to operating a pharmacy and was acknowledged as one of the foremost historians on the history of the White Lake, Michigan area in the latter portion of his life. Ripley suffered a heart attack two weeks before his death and later had a stroke, dying at his home on August 30, 1943, at age 64. He was survived by his wife and children and was interred in Lansing.

Portrait from the History of the Bench and Bar of California, 1912.

   A resident of both Ohio and Washington, D.C., lawyer Montague Tucker Moses migrated west to California in the late 1870s, where he continued his practice. Moses earns a spot here on the site due to his 1902 candidacy for the California state senate, running as a Democrat. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 11, 1850, Montague Tucker Moses was the son of Simpson and Lizzie (Tucker) Moses. Young Montague would later reside in Washington, D.C., and received his education in the district schools.

   In the late 1860s, Moses enrolled at George Washington University and graduated with his law degree in the class of 1872. He was admitted to the bar that same year and operated his practice in Washington until his removal to California in 1876. In the year following his resettlement, he joined fellow attorney James Crittenden in the firm of Crittenden and Moses, which extended until 1882. For the next three years Moses practiced alone, and in 1888 established a partnership with Charles A. Sumner, which would continue for sixteen years.

  Moses entered the political life of California in 1902 when he became the Democratic nominee for state senator from California's 22nd district. One of the three candidates running that year, Moses placed third in that contest, losing out to Republican nominee Hamilton Bauer by a vote of 2,883 to 818. Active in the Woodmen of the World fraternal organization. Moses served that group as a Head Consul and also served as the editor of the group's "Pacific Woodmen" publication beginning in 1907. 

  Little information is available on Moses' life after 1907, except notice of his practicing law in San Francisco. He died on August 20, 1927, at age 77, and had been married with three children, Preston, Lillian, and Montague Hudson.

Portrait from the Iowa Legislative database.

   Two-term Iowa state representative and congressional candidate Montague Hakes is another "Montague" who found success in politics. A lifelong Iowan, Hakes was one of several children born to Giles Julian and Phoebe (Randall) Hakes, his birth occurring in Jones County on February 24, 1858. He received a common school education and enrolled at the State Agricultural College in Ames in the late 1870s. Following his graduation from that school's science department in 1880 Hakes spent four years employed in railroad construction, work that would take him to Idaho, Colorado, and South Dakota.

   Montague Hakes married In December 1884 to Harriett "Hattie" Arnold (1861-1934). The couple were wed until Montague's death in 1921 and had four children, Byron Arnold (1886-1947), Karl Montague (1889-1951), Ledgard (Ledyard) (1894-1957), and Leland Paul (1897-1954). Shortly after his marriage, Hakes joined his father in Laurens, Iowa, and together established  G.J. Hakes and Son, a general store and poultry business. This firm continued on until 1890, when the elder Hakes sold off his interest in the business to another son, James, with the firm undergoing a name change to M. and J.R. Hakes. 

  Through the 1890s and early 1900s, the Hakes brothers saw their poultry business expand through numerous Iowa railway towns, and by 1900 the brothers had built along the Northwestern railroad a 

"Large establishment for the handling of eggs and the dressing of poultry and sheds that accommodate many thousands of live fowl." 

  The Hakes brother's success in poultry sales brought considerable revenue to Laurens, Iowa, and Pocahontas County, making it "one of the most important centers of the poultry trade in Iowa". With his operations having nearly $200,000 in "live and dressed" poultry, Montague Hakes entered into other areas of business, being a co-partner in a Laurens-based coal and lumber firm, and had a financial stake in a lumber company in Washington and a fruit ranch in Colorado. 
   Montague Hakes made his first foray into the political life of Pocahontas County in 1885 when he was named U.S. Postmaster at Laurens. He would serve in that capacity until 1889 and in the following year began a five-year stint on the Laurens city council. Hakes also made his first run for the Iowa House of Representatives during this time, being an unsuccessful candidate for the house in the 1891 election year. In 1903 he was again a candidate for the state legislature and was this time victorious, narrowly defeating Republican nominee F.C. Gilchrist by a vote of 1,591 to 1487. 
   Taking his seat at the start of the 1904-06 session, Hakes served on the committees on the Agricultural College, Ways and Means, Banks and Banking, Roads and Highways, Suppression of Intemperance, and Senatorial districts. In the 1905 election year Hakes won a second term and during the 1906-08 term was named the Committee on Claims. He was defeated for a third term in 1907 by James Stewart, 1,559 votes to 1,357.
   In 1908 Montague Hakes set his sights on a seat in Congress, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 10th district. One of four candidates running that year, Hakes placed second on election day, polling 17,256 votes to winning Republican Frank Plowman Wood's total of 29,608. Following his congressional loss, Hakes continued to reside in Laurens with his family and died in that city on July 5, 1921, at age 63.  His wife Hattie survived him by thirteen years and following her death in 1934 was interred alongside him at the Laurens Cemetery.
   Political service would continue in the Hakes family in Frances Gilchrist Hakes (1897-1988), Montague Hakes' daughter-in-law. Frances Helsell Gilchrist was the daughter of former U.S. Representative Francis Gilchrist and married in 1922 to Ledgard (Ledyard) B. Hakes, Montague Hakes' third-born son. The couple was wed until his death in 1957 and three years later Frances Hakes was elected to the first of two terms in the Iowa state legislature from Pocahontas County, serving in the sessions of 1961-63 and 1963-65.

Portrait from the 1903 California Blue Book.

   In an April 25, 2018 update to this article, another politically involved Montague has been discovered--Montague Bryant Steadman! Steadman is unique as he is the first native of New Zealand to be profiled here on the site, being born in Auckland on September 4th of either 1867 or 1868 (accounts vary). The son of Thomas and Ella Steadman, Steadman's education occurred in the country of his birth "in public schools and by private tuition."

  Steadman immigrated to California in 1889 and later became employed as a private secretary to David Jack (1822-1909), a millionaire land developer, businessman, and the man who popularized "Monterey Jack" cheese. In 1892 Steadman married Dolores "Dolly" Gregg (1873-1956), with whom he had two children, Montague Gregg (1897-1983) and Vera (1900-1966). The couple would later divorce and in February 1908 Steadman remarried to Frances  Josephine Chavoya (1874-1961), to whom he was wed until his death. One further son would be born to the couple, Montague Bryant Jr., who died aged 98 in 2007.

   Montague B. Steadman entered the political life of California in November 1902 when he won election to the California State Assembly from the 59th district. Serving in the session of 1903-05, he would be named to the committees on Agriculture, Military Affairs, Public Morals and would chair the committee on Dairies and Dairy Products.

  Little else is known of Steadman's life following his term in the legislature. In 1907 he is recorded as serving as a trustee for the city of Monterey and by 1920 had relocated to Santa Clara County. He died here on June 30, 1937, and was later interred at the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery.

Cortez Perry Hooker (1814-1886), Cortez Ewing (1862-1901)

Portrait from the Past and Present of Macomb County, Michigan, 1905.

  After a lengthy stay in the Washington D.C.-Virginia area, we journey to Michigan to highlight the life of Cortez Perry Hooker, a transplant to that state from New York. A member of both houses of the Michigan legislature and a prominent farmer in Macomb County, Hooker's unusual first name "Cortez" was most likely given to him in honor of Hernan Cortes (Cortez), the famed Spanish conquistador and Governor of New Spain who overthrew the Aztec Empire in the early 1520s. 
   Born in Hampton, New York on October 14, 1814, Cortez Perry Hooker was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Martin) Hooker. Little information could be found on Hooker's early life in New York, and by 1837 he had resettled in Macomb County, Michigan, where he would reside for the remainder of his life. Hooker first established himself in Clinton Township and resided there for three years. In the early 1840s he purchased a farm in Washington township, and during his decade-long residency there married in 1842 to Margaret Axford (1819-1861). The couple would remain childless and following Margaret's death, he remarried in October 1864 to Sarah Ann Smith (1834-1916), with whom he had two children, John C. (1865-1938) and Mary.
  Hooker first entered Macomb County politics in the mid-1840s when he became a Justice of the Peace. He would hold several other local offices (including county superintendent of the poor and village alderman) and in 1849 became one of six candidates from Macomb County vying for a seat in the state house of representatives. Hooker would emerge victorious on election day, garnering 1,172 votes, and was one of three Macomb County representatives elected that year. 
   Serving during the 1850-51 session, Hooker sat on the committee on Enrolled Bills. He continued his political ascent in 1854 by winning election to the state senate, defeating Republican candidate William Canfield by only thirteen votes. During the 1855-56 term, Hooker sat on the committees on Manufactures and following his service resided in New Baltimore, Michigan. Here he engaged in merchandising and farming, being acknowledged by the 1882 History of Macomb County as "one of the most extensive, if not the most extensive, farmers in the county.
   Hooker continued involvement in Macomb County politics into the 1860s and 70s, once again serving as a justice of the peace and in 1870 and 1872 was a candidate for county coroner. Cortez Perry Hooker died in New Baltimore on November 7, 1886, at age 72 and was survived by his wife Sarah. Both were interred at the Oakwood Cemetery in that town.

From the Biographical Sketches and Review of the Bench and Bar of Indiana, 1895.

   The political star of Indiana state senator Cortez Ewing shone briefly and brightly in the late 19th century, being terminated by his death from an epileptic attack in 1901. Remarked as one of the most "adroit young lawyers" ever to practice in Decatur County, Ewing was admitted to the state bar at just 20 years of age and at age 27 was elected as a state senator. Ewing was a lifelong native of Decatur County, being born there on September 14, 1862, the son of Abel and Nancy (Patton) Ewing. Bestowed his unusual name in honor of his uncle, attorney Cortez Ewing (1837-1887), the younger Ewing worked the family farm during his youth and would attend school in Greensburg.

   In 1879 the seventeen-year-old Ewing began reading law under his uncle. He continued his studies for nearly four years, and in February 1883 was admitted to the Indiana bar ex gracia, as he was underage. In September of that year, Ewing began a law practice with his uncle, Judge James K. Ewing, a firm that would continue until 1893. Cortez Ewing began involvement in local politics in his early twenties, being a member of the Decatur County Central Committee from 1884 to 1894. In 1889 he was elected to the Indiana state senate from the counties of Decatur and Shelby and served one four-year term. Ewing married during his term on June 18, 1890, to Mary Fletcher Matthews, a daughter of future Indiana Governor Claude Matthews (1845-1898).  The couple would have two children, Claude Whitcomb (1891-1966) and Helen Nan.

   While still an incumbent senator Ewing was selected by then Governor Alvin Hovey to serve on the Board of Managers for the World's Fair for Indiana. Ewing filled that role until the conclusion of the fair in 1893 and continued with his law practice in Greensburg, partnering with lawyer Davisson Wilson in 1895. Ewing would also be retained as counsel for the Big Four Railway Company. 

  Despite being in the prime of his life Ewing grappled with the effects of epilepsy, a malady that eventually claimed his life at age 39 on November 1, 1901. Newspaper reports on his death relate that he had spent a good portion of that day in court and while waiting for a passenger train that evening "dropped dead" at the passenger depot, due to an epileptic seizure. Ewing was survived by his wife and children and was later interred at the South Park Cemetery in Greensburg. 

From the Indianapolis Journal, November 2, 1901.

Lovatus Chapman Allen (1816-1901)

Portrait from the History of Washtenaw County, Michigan, 1881.

    A transplant to Michigan from Vermont, Lovatus Chapman Allen rose to become a prominent citizen in Washtenaw County, where he was a large landowner and farmer. A holder of a number of local political offices in York township in that county, Allen was later elected to one term in the Michigan House of Representatives in the early 1860s. Born in Huntington, Vermont on September 21, 1816, Lovatus Chapman Allen was one of nine children born to Edward and Abigail (Palmer) Allen. 

   The 1881 History of Washtenaw County records that Lovatus Allen began his schooling in a log cabin schoolhouse located on his father's property and following his family's removal to the nearby town of Richmond attended schools local to that area. At age eighteen he began a stint as a school teacher and during the summer months worked the family farm. Allen continued along that route until age twenty when he left home to seek out work in Massachusetts. After a short spell working in a gun-maker's shop in that state, he returned home to Vermont, where he continued to teach and farm until reaching age twenty-five.

   In the early 1840s, Lovatus Allen left Vermont for Deckertown, New Jersey, where his brother Carlos had settled some years previously. Allen would teach in this area for several years and in 1847 married Sarah Dewey (1822-1881), to whom he was wed for over thirty years. The couple would become parents to ten children, who are listed as follows in order of birth: Kate (born 1848), Mary E. (1849-1940), Louisa (1850-1938), Laura Anne (1852-1936), Lovatus (died in infancy in 1853), )Ada (birth date unknown) Adelaide (1855-1926), Alice (1856-1950), Ida (1860-1945) and William Fitch (1864-1952).

   Following his marriage, Lovatus Allen moved to Branchville, New Jersey, where for three years he was affiliated with a woolen mill in that town. In 1850 he pulled up stakes once again, this time resettling in Washtenaw, Michigan. He would reside here for the remainder of his life and after a period of establishing roots in the community built up a substantial farming complex. In addition to farming Allen also taught school and was elected to a number of local political offices, including that of school inspector and justice of the peace.

   In 1862 Allen reached his highest degree of political prominence when he was elected to represent Washtenaw County in the Michigan State House of Representatives. Serving in the session of 1863-65, Allen returned to farming after leaving the house and was widowed in 1881. Three years prior to his death Lovatus Allen was invited by then Michigan Governor Hazen Pingree to attend the dedication of a monument honoring former Governor Austin Blair. The 82-year-old former representative traveled to Lansing to attend the ceremony and was recorded as being "much pleased" at having visited the state capitol.

   Lovatus Chapman Allen died in York Township on September 5, 1901, just two weeks short of his 85th birthday. He was survived by several of his children and was later buried at the Marble Park Cemetery in Milan, Michigan.

From the October 20, 1898 Saline, Michigan Observer.

Flagget Henry Trabbic (1866-1919)

From a campaign card in the possession of Mrs. Judy Carr.

   A resident of distinction in Monroe County, Michigan, Flagget Henry Trabbic lived to the age of just 53, and during that short lifespan rose to become one of the aforementioned county's most honored sons, being at various times a farmer, stock-raiser, town supervisor and state representative. Despite his prominence in 19th and early 20th century Michigan, Mr. Trabbic is all but forgotten today, and it is that point that makes me proud to know that there are existing historical and genealogical societies that dedicate much effort to keeping records on the lives of long deceased figures like the man profiled today.

   The following write-up on Flagget Trabbic's came about with the help of the Genealogical Society of Monroe County President Loretta Dunham, who received an e-mail from me a few weeks ago asking for help in tracking down a portrait of Mr. Trabbic. I received an e-mail shortly thereafter from Loretta, who related in her message that there was a GSMC member who was a Trabbic descendant, and with luck, she might have a picture of him. A short while afterward I received a kind e-mail from one Judy Carr, who noted that Flagget Trabbic was her great-great uncle! After relating that I had been unable to locate a portrait of Mr. Trabbic, Judy e-mailed me the above portrait, part of a campaign card dated 1910 that Trabbic used when he ran for register of deeds in Monroe County. The full card is shown below, and this marks the first time I've seen a picture of this elusive Michigan native since locating his name nearly a year ago. I can't thank Judy enough for her help with locating the picture, as well as relating new information on Flagget that I'd previously been unaware of.

   The story of this oddly named legislator begins with his birth in Erie Township, Michigan on February 10, 1866. Flagget H. Trabbic was one of eight children born to Guytani Peter Trabbic (1821-1903) and his second wife Caroline Knaggs (1830-1881). Peter Trabbic, as most references list him, was born near Genoa, Italy in 1821 and immigrated to the United States in the early 1830s. Over the course of his life, he became one of Monroe County's prominent landowners, "owning over 700 acres of Michigan's best soil, all located in Erie and Bedford townships." As Judy Carr related during our correspondence, the Trabbic family name was originally spelled as "Trebbeco", as per old family records, and "the name Flagget was not uncommon amongst the French Canadians" that had settled in the Monroe County area during the first half of the 19th century. Peter Trabbic was also politically active, serving as Erie Township supervisor on two occasions.

  Flagget Trabbic received his education in schools local to Erie township and later attended the St. Mary's Institute in Dayton, Ohio. Following the completion of his schooling, Trabbic returned to Erie to take over the day-to-day operations of the family's 700-acre farm. For many years afterward he was engaged in farming and in June 1892 married Ms. Mattie Lehr (1867-1957), mentioned by the 1913 History of Monroe County as a "musician of talent." The couple would later have two children, a son who died in infancy in 1893 and a daughter Gladys, who died aged one in 1902.

  Trabbic first became active in local political affairs in 1893, when he was elected as Erie township supervisor. He served in this capacity for three years, and during his last year in office served as president of the board of supervisors of Monroe County. He was returned to the office of supervisor a decade later but resigned when he was elected to the legislature. Trabbic became a candidate for the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1906 and in November of that year won the election, defeating Republican Lucien B. Smith by a vote of 3,269 to 3,007. His election as Monroe County's representative in the legislature was later encapsulated by the History of Monroe County in the following passage:

"The citizens of Monroe County were fully aware of the possibilities for either good or evil when they sent Mr. Trabbic to the legislature as their representative, but new absolutely from their lifelong acquaintance with the man that nothing but the strictest justice would ever issue from his hands. They were not mistaken; he preformed his duty to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, and also of his state, which is proud to acknowledge him as one of her sons."

From the 1907 Michigan State Legislative Manual.

   Taking his seat in January 1907, Trabbic served one term as a representative, 1907-1909. Despite serving only one term in the house Mr. Trabbic proved to be a very capable first-term legislator, introducing several bills during his term. Amongst these pieces of legislation was a bill "to establish a township system for maintaining, repairing and cleaning out established ditches, drains, and water-courses in the county of Monroe" and also introduced a petition brought about by Monroe County residents "asking for the passage of a bill to regulate the practice of optometry." In addition to the above Trabbic held a seat on the house committees on Game Laws, Industrial Home for Girls, and Mines and Minerals, during his term. Late in his service Trabbic became a booster for the establishment of a monument to Col. George Custer in Monroe County, and "was instrumental in gaining an appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars" to fund the project through.

  After a successful first term in the legislature, Trabbic ran for reelection in November 1907 but was defeated by Republican candidate C. Wesley Kemmerling by a vote of 4,018 to 3,655. Following his defeat, Trabbic continued to take an active role in Monroe County political affairs, being the Democratic candidate for Register of Deeds in 1910.

Trabbic's campaign card, from the collection of Judy Carr.

   Little could be found in regards to Trabbic's final years, although notice is given as to his opening a garage in Erie township in 1917. He was the proprietor of this garage for only a few years, as he contracted pneumonia and later pyelitis (an inflammation of the kidney area in the pelvic region) and died aged 53 on April 4, 1919. Trabbic was later interred at the St. Joseph Cemetery in Monroe, Michigan, and was survived by his wife Mattie (also interred at St. Joseph), who died at age 90 in 1957. 

Melbourne Haddock Ford (1849-1891)

  This well-dressed gentleman is Melbourne Haddock Ford, a U.S. Representative from Michigan in the late 1880s. Despite his untimely death at age 41 in 1891 this oddly named politician managed to carve quite a career for himself in the public forum, serving at various times as an attorney, Michigan State legislator, state Democratic Committee chairman and U.S. Representative.

   Melbourne H. Ford was born in Saline, Michigan on June 30, 1849, one of five children born to Theron Ford and his second wife Amelia Burke.  The Ford family removed to Lansing, Michigan when Melbourne was ten and here he attended local schools. Ford continued his education at the Michigan State College of Agriculture, and in 1864, the then fifteen-year-old Ford enlisted in the Navy and was later promoted to midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He left the Academy in 1868 (a memorial resolution on his life gives his reason for leaving as an "affection of the eyes") and shortly thereafter returned to Lansing. Here he became employed as a clerk in a drugstore and eventually found his niche as a stenographer. The Congressional Memorial address on his life notes that Ford "grew to be an expert and one of the most successful shorthand writers in the country" and was "long engaged as a stenographer in the higher courts of Michigan."

   While still employed as a stenographer, Ford studied law and was admitted to the Michigan State Bar in 1878. Also around this time, Ford married Newport, Rhode Island native Mary Carr, with their union producing three children, Kate Huntington, Thomas Burke (1878-1959), and Arthur Melbourne. After beginning his law practice, Ford authored a legal textbook, entitled "Ford's Legal Analysis", mentioned as being a "small but standard legal work". In 1885 he was elected to his first political office, that of Kent County's representative in the Michigan State Legislature. He continued to serve in the legislature in 1886 and is mentioned as being "most prominently identified in this session of the legislature with an effort for the restoration of capital punishment in Michigan".

   Due to Ford's popularity in the state legislature, his name began being mentioned as a candidate for Congress, and he eventually launched a campaign in 1886. On election day Ford eked out a narrow win (18,567 votes to 18,120) over his Republican opponent George Washington McBride and took his seat in January 1887. During his term, Ford held a seat on both the Committee on Territories and the Committee on Military Affairs and later chaired the Select Committee on Contract Labor.

  Ford was defeated for reelection in November 1888 by Charles Eugene Belknap (1846-1929) and returned to practicing law in Grand Rapids. In 1890 he was named as the Chairman of the Democratic State Convention being held in Grand Rapids and in that same year was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives over Republican nominee Charles W. Watkins. Ford's second term in Congress officially began in March 1891 and was terminated by his death in Grand Rapids on April 20, 1891, at age 41. The memorial address on his life makes note that on "April 19th, 1891 he sought repose, and in that strange and solemn interval of time, the twilight of the morning, in the violet dawn, he was stricken with a malady which in a matter of hours removed him from the earth."  The New York Times obituary on Congressman Ford (published one day after his decease)  lists his cause of death as apoplexy and has been posted in its entirety below.

   Melbourne H. Ford's untimely death certainly curtailed a promising political career that had barely been started. In the days and weeks following his death, numerous newspapers and periodicals (both in Michigan and in other areas) lamented the loss of the popular Congressman, and in the Congressional Memorial address honoring him, Ford was praised as "the most promising young man in Michigan and that a bright future of usefulness and honor was before him" and that "few climbed high in so short a time".

  Ford was subsequently interred in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Grand Rapids and was survived by his wife Mary, who died in 1935 at age 87. The portrait of Melbourne H. Ford shown at the top of this article was prominently featured in the House Memorial address on his life, originally published in 1893.

           This rare portrait of Ford was featured in his obituary in the Wichita Daily Eagle in May 1891.

Zael Ward (1791-1864)

  Yesterday's remarkable discovery and detective work has yielded one of the most interesting site articles you're ever going to read here. If you haven't read yesterdays article on the "rediscovery" of Zael Ward (1791-1864), I urge you to do so immediately!
  I'll begin with a "condensed" version of yesterday's happenings. I had been doing research on a Michigan politician and businessman named Worthy Lovell Churchill (1840-1913) when I discovered a work entitled St. Clair County, Michigan: Its History and its People, written and published by William Lee Jenks in 1912. In this particular book was a roster of men native to the St. Clair County area who had served in the Michigan State House of Representatives from 1835 to the time of the book's publishing. As I perused this list looking for odd names one of them jumped out at me--Zael Ward. The list in question is shown below.

 When I first saw this unusual name it struck a chord with me as if I had seen it before. After some quick thinking, I remembered where I'd seen the name.....Andrew Young's 1875 work The History of Chautauqua County. In said work was a list of Supervisors of the town of Harmony (located in Chautauqua County) and on this list is the name of Zael Ward, who served as supervisor from 1835-36. Another list shows Ward's name in regards to a meeting of the Chautauqua County Board of Supervisors in November 1835 (posted below). For comparison to the above blurb (mentioning his legislative service), one only need look at this to see that the names are indeed the same.

  After making this astonishing local history discovery, I felt confident enough in my research to conclude that the Zael Ward who had been a Chautauqua County resident in the 1820s and 30s was indeed the same man who went on to serve in the Michigan legislature twenty-some-odd years later. However, I was now faced with a question--whatever became of this man? A few Google searches later told the whole story, which I will now relate to you, and there are a variety of twists and turns along the way! There are only bits and pieces of information on Ward in various histories on St. Clair County as well as Chautauqua, which made researching him a bit more difficult! I also had to contend with the rather inconsistent spelling of his first name, which is shown to have been spelled as "Zael", "Zale", "Zeal" and "Zuel".
   Research has shown that Zael Ward was born in Vermont on April 7, 1791, the son of the Rev. David Ward (1761-1822) and his wife Abigail Pray Ward (1755-1817). Virtually nothing could be found on Ward's early life in Vermont or his education/schooling. It is known that Zael was the sixth child in a family of ten children, who are listed as follows: Submit (1780-1856), Eber (1782-1855), Samuel (1784-1854), Nathan (1786-1868), Keziah (1789-1864), Zael (1791-1864), Rhoda (1793-1864), John Pray (1795-1816), Charlotte (1797-1863) and David (1799-1889). 
 It is unknown when Zael left Vermont, but it is assumed that it was after his marriage to Susan Page, which occurred on April 26, 1812. Zael and his wife also had a large family (which also consisted of ten children) and are listed by order of birth: Phebe (born in 1813), Rhoda (1814-1909), Susan (1817-1905), Submit (died aged 9 months in 1819), Submit (1819-1902), Samuel (born 1821), Eber (born in 1823), Mary Jane (born in 1826), Zael Jr. (1827-1850) and David William (1833-1854). Zael and his large family eventually resettled in Keene Valley, located in Essex County New York and it was here that he purchased a farm located next to his brother Nathan's homestead. Most of the information thus given on Zael and his family was discovered in the Autobiography of David Ward (Zael's nephew) published in 1893, and it stands as the best available source on Zael's life and exploits. An important passage from the book (it gives a note on his removal to Chautauqua) is posted below. 

  Zael Ward and his family are listed as resettling in the town of Harmony in Chautauqua County in 1828. It was here that he purchased a farm in the aforementioned town and research has shown that it didn't take long for Zael to become active in county politics! The blurb below (from John Philip Down's 1921 work History of Chautauqua County, New York) shows that from 1835 to 1836 he served as Supervisor for the town of Harmony.

   Zael Ward's stay in Chautauqua County was quite short, as he and his family (except his daughter Rhoda) were removed to the Newport-Marine City, Michigan area in "the spring of 1837." Zael's brother Samuel had emigrated to Michigan some years previously and was the founder of the aforementioned town. Samuel's brothers Eber and Nathan also relocated here during the 1820s and 30s.
  Within a few years of his resettlement, Zael Ward's name became a prominent one in the St. Clair County area, and it's truly amazing how quickly this Chautauqua County resident built up his reputation in his new home state! From 1838-1840 he served as a St. Clair County commissioner and in 1842 he became a  founder (and later a trustee) of the first Congregational society in Marine City. In the latter year, Ward was elected as Justice of the Peace, serving a one-year term. A genealogical website mentioning the Ward family also lists Zael as being involved in shipping interests in Newport/Marine City, stating "Zael Ward also owned ships and served as captain". Sadly no other source elaborates on his involvement in the local shipping trade.
  Throughout the 1840s and 50s, Zael's public profile in Michigan continued to rise and in November 1854 he was elected by the citizens of St. Clair County (or to be more precise Belle Springs) to a seat in the Michigan State House of Representatives. The History of St. Clair County gives note that Ward defeated his Democratic opponent (Alexander Gilchrist) by a vote of 553 to 347 and took his seat in January of 1855. The tally of that election is shown below. 

  During his legislative service (which concluded in 1856) Ward served on the Committees of Agriculture and Manufactures, and is listed in the 1855 Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Michigan as presenting "three petitions, of the inhabitants of Clay, Ira and Cottrellville, in the county of St. Clair, asking alteration of boundaries." 

 Very little could be found on Zael Ward's life following his service in state government. Both David Ward's Autobiography and the History of St. Clair County note that Zael moved back to Chautauqua County at some point in early 1864 and died here on July 21, 1864. It was also found that he was buried in the Blockville Union Burying Ground in Blockville, New York.

 All in all, it is truly fascinating that this obscure man with an incredibly interesting life story is buried right here in Chautauqua County. I'm willing to bet that absolutely no one residing here realized that we had an oddly named Michigan legislator and shipping captain buried in the tiny settlement of Blockville, and it only goes to show that there is still exciting local history to be found in this day in age--all we need to do is read, research and look!

 Yesterday I made a sojourn out to Blockville to photograph Zael Ward's gravesite. After some intensive searching his stone was discovered towards the front of this fairly small cemetery...and now for some photos from the trip!

The Blockville cemetery has some very early graves located within its borders (the earliest I could find dated from 1833) and there are even one or two Revolutionary War veterans buried here!

  

  The writing at the bottom of Zael Ward's stone really isn't decipherable, and his date of birth and death are April 7, 1791, and July 21, 1864. There are a few sources out there that list his death year as 1861 but these are incorrect. I've also seen the date of April 6 listed as his birthday but this has also proven to be the incorrect date.

  

 You'll also notice that Zael's gravestone is quite nondescript, and gives no indication to the interesting life and exploits of the man buried beneath it!

  Zael's wife Susan is buried next to him, and her stone isn't in the greatest condition. Susan survived Zael by nine years, dying on September 11, 1873, at age 82. It is unknown whether she died in Michigan or in Chautauqua County, but I presume that she joined her husband in Chautauqua when he relocated here in 1864. Next to Zael and Susan's stones are the markers for their daughter Rhoda, who died in Blockville in 1909 at age 94. She is buried next to her husband ( Sardius Steward) who served as township supervisor of Harmony from 1858 to 1860.